What to do behind the Orange Curtain? (1 Viewer)

[Grant B]

Started my twice monthly San Francisco to Anahiem commute and was wondering what was there to do around, as my LA friends use to say, behind the orange curtain.
I am not one for Disney, been there and don't care if I ever go back but there must be some other things.
I have always wondered about the La Brea tar pits. Is it interesting and how much time would it take to see? Is there anything around here that hasn't been built in the last 10 years (Actually the Boeing plant I am working at is the oldest building around....at least so it seems).
I might seem a little negative but I don't mean it that way. I just miss the city and my Scotties:frowning:

 

[JoshF]

The tar pits are in La Brea, which is LA proper, not OC. About an hour away without traffic.

In OC, I'd recommend Huntington Beach if you're a beach person. The Orange Circle is cool if you're into thrift shopping and clothing. South Coast Plaza if you're into shopping. Angel Stadium if you're into baseball.

 

[Grant B]

Hey Josh, how you doing?

Angel Stadium if you're into baseball

I will drive to that other hated basball stadium when the Giants are in town

 

[Jay Heyl]

The Block in Orange (22 Fwy at City Drive) is supposed to be fun. Stores, restaurants, entertainment venues. Brea Mall is a pretty good place to wander for a few hours. Lots of good restaurants in the vicinity of the mall. BJ's Pizza, in the southwest corner of the mall parking lot, brews their own beer. I haven't been there in a while, but they used to have $2 drafts and half-price appetizers during happy hour.

There are quite a few touristy things on Beach Blvd. Knott's Berry Farm, Wax Museum, etc.

You could go see the Angels play. There's frequently some kind of entertainment going on at The Pond, right across the freeway from Anaheim Stadium.

If you haven't already, be sure to check out Fry's. If you're working where I think you are, it's just across the street. It's easy to kill a couple hours there. Even if you've been to one of the Fry's up north, the Anaheim store is worth checking out.

If you're around over Labor Day, there's always a big festival at the circle in Orange. Lots of food of different national origins and lots of people watching.

I personally prefer Newport Beach over Huntington, but it depends on what you're looking for at the beach. Huntington is very open and a bit more "natural", discounting the odd refreshment stand. Newport is much more developed, with lots of houses and bars and restaurants facing the beach.

Downtown Brea (Brea Blvd and Imperial Highway) has been rebuilt over the last few years. There are quite a few restaurants and some move theaters there. There's also an Improv in the area.

On the restaurant front, if you've not been to a Claim Jumper, I highly recommend checking it out. I know of ones in Brea (across from Brea Mall), Santa Ana, and Fountain Valley. Get there early or expect a long wait. If you want scenic, Orange County Mining Company (Chapman and Crawford Canyon in Orange) and Orange Hill (also Chapman in Orange, just up the hill from the Mining Company) are both pretty good. Mining Company is casual, Orange Hill is "business casual" (i.e. no jeans, no T-shirts, no tennis shoes). For very upscale, I recommned Mr. Stox (on Katella, just a bit east of Disneyland). Excellent food and fantastic wine selection. $$$$$, but worth it if you can afford it.

If you don't mind going a ways on the weekend, Big Bear and Arrowhead are both pretty nice, if you're into the outdoors thing. Lots of hiking and dirt roads.

 

[Grant B]

Jay
I will print out your suggestions and check them out when the weather gets better! When you are use to 60 degrees and fog, 100 knocks you out.
Yes, Frys is across the street and I already hit it. Reminds me of the store in Sacto (Scary on how many I've been to)
I should of said, I am what I refer to as 'nature impared'.
I think nature is great, I just don't like to be in it. I get the shakes when I don't see concrete.
One more dumb question is La Brea and Brea different places or the same and has anyone been to the tarpits? It seems pretty strange and I like strange more than touristy.

 

[Zen Butler]

La Brea Tar Pits are in Los Angeles and Brea is a city in N. Orange County. Both unrelated. The Orange Circle is nothing like the 80's vintage Melrose. Although the circle does possess a bit of its own charm. Old Orange is actually much older than much of the rest of OC, which was built last week. Orange County's coastal areas are very nice, if not a bit snooty and touristy to boot. It would also wear thin very quickly. Make the extra trek to L.A.

 

[Carlo_M]

If you go to Huntington Beach, go to DVD Planet's store (it's on Beach Boulevard and Terry). When I go in there, it's like I'm one of the kids in Willy Wonka -- except instead of chocolate, there's DVDs!

 

[Khoa Tran]

dvd planet is overpriced, sorry they say 30% off, but it's off msrp, still over 20 dollars for a dvd you get at costco...anyways if you like the beach head down to newport, take balboa blvd all the way til you see a sign that says balboa peninsula, keep going til you hit a cul-de-sac and the mouth of newport harbor is right there it's beautiful

if you want some more, head down a little bit more south to laguna beach, take the 73 to 133 all the way down to pch, you should be able to find the shore from there....

here's a link to all the locations in laguna beach, i recommend "thousand steps"
http://www.scuba-superstore.com/dive/divelb.htm

 

[Grant B]

thanks everyone! I'll be heading back on sunday and I'll check some out
Grant

 

[Carlo_M]

dvd planet is overpriced, sorry they say 30% off, but it's off msrp, still over 20 dollars for a dvd you get at costco

True. I wouldn't recommend buying the latest loss-leaders from them.

But I challenge Costco (with all 30 titles they have in stock at any one time), or even Best Buy to have 1/2 of the variety DVD Planet has. The two things that DVD Planet has going for it:

1. Selection - nearly any title you can think of will probably be there.

2. Criterion - 35% off of MSRP, which in my experience is about 10%-15% cheaper than you can get anywhere else, online included, and for MSRPs in the $39.99+ range, this makes a difference if you're a Criterion fan.